VCU Developments

[I miss RVA]

1 hour ago, Hike said:

Google maps updated their street level image of this location two months ago and has the foundation drill shown as the address for this project.

https://maps.app.goo.gl/uXd8FKhwHXocys5D7?g_st=ig

SWEET!  Good find, @Hike! 

20 hours ago, Brent114 said:

Yes

Coolness!! Say - next time you happen to find yourself in the neighborhood once the crane is up, any chance for a picture or two?  

(Yes, I FREELY admit to being a card-carrying construction nerd )

Edited November 5, 2022 by I miss RVA

[eandslee]

Looks like they are disassembling the tower crane at the VCU Stem building. Sad to see it go, but hopefully it goes up somewhere else in town. 

Edited November 5, 2022 by eandslee

[Hike]

7 minutes ago, eandslee said:

Looks like they are disassembling the tower crane at the VCU Stem building. Sad to see it go, but hopefully it goes up somewhere else in town. 

Sad to see it go for sure, hopefully this new STEM laboratory,  when completed, can help to offset the lower attendance numbers at VCU, go rams!

[I miss RVA]

1 hour ago, eandslee said:

Looks like they are disassembling the tower crane at the VCU Stem building. Sad to see it go, but hopefully it goes up somewhere else in town. 

True - sad to see it go - BUT - it's been up for quite a while (a year and a half at least, if not longer) - AND - the STEM building -- upon opening -- will provide the facility for VCU to churn out more grads who could boost RVA's status as a city that's a good place for tech jobs, which could alter the calculations certain companies make if/when looking to relocate to a new/different market. 

Plus - there's a crane going up at the tech building on Broad, no? 

55 minutes ago, Hike said:

go rams!

AMEN to that!!! VCU is my undergrad alma mater!  

[Downtowner]

So wanted to let you guys know I will be back at the childrens hospital working tomorrow. I’ve heard a completion date in spring of 2023. I honestly don’t see that happening. All of the floors from the ground up pretty much is drywall and some floors just  big open floor with nothing on it. There is a whole floor for all of us construction trade workers and it’s nothing more than just a huge floor full of tables for us to eat microwaves and some crazy nice port-a-potties with ac running water lights  some of the nicest porta potties I call it the John house as my dad and grandpa called it but yeah I don’t see this being done in spring of 2023 with inspections being continuously done it’s crazy how much of this is not finished inside. We are having a very hard time with all of our jobs just  about. Most of it being permit and decision making related but some of it is a little scary for us. Waiting wondering what is going to happen.

[Brent114]

I love crane day! 
 

[eandslee]

1 hour ago, Brent114 said:

I love crane day! 
 

Sweet photos!!!  Thanks.  I also love crane day!!  Hopefully, these are just the start of many over the next few months!!

[I miss RVA]

8 hours ago, Brent114 said:

I love crane day! 
 

@Brent114-- without question, you get this week's "YOU DA MAN!!!" award!! Thank you SO much for taking and posting these gems. HOLY MOLY! Yeah - I'm with you and @eandslee-- I LOVE crane day! 

Oh, and @eandslee- to your point of hoping to see a LOT more of them in the near future: at some point (hopefully!) we'll see one rise at the Bakery Lofts site (although this developer built the 12-story Icon tower in Scott's with a mobile/crawler crane), certainly at least two at CoStar, and I would think probably a few cranes will be popping up in the near future in Manchester. NOW - I really want to see one going up at 2nd & E. Marshall - that's the next development that NEEDS to get underway.

Anyway - @Brent114-- that third picture -- showing this new one going up and the Pinecrest/Parc View crane in the background - WOW!!  And really, all three pix show RVA as a city ON THE MOVE! 

(Sweet Jag in the third picture, too!)

Edited November 20, 2022 by I miss RVA

[Hike]

3 hours ago, Brent114 said:

I love crane day! 
 

Dude, thanks!

[I miss RVA]

Just an interesting note about crane days and tower cranes over the city:

If you include Scott's Addition, VCU academic campus and environs, Manchester and, of course, downtown - RVA has had an UNBROKEN period of time in which AT LEAST ONE tower crane (I think it's really at least TWO - and certainly at certain stretches, several more) has been up over the city dating all the way back to (I THINK?!?!) construction of the Gateway Plaza building. By this I mean - at least one crane has been up somewhere in the city AT ALL TIMES for the last roughly seven or so years - as in, a new crane goes up before an old one comes down. Perfect example - the cranes for the VCU Health Outpatient Hospital building went up before the second of the two cranes on the Dominion Tower was taken down. Children's Hospital and the G.A. Building cranes went up at that time - and prior to the very last of that gaggle of cranes coming down (I think it was the second of the two atop the Children's Hospital), both the G.A. parking deck crane AND the STEM Building crane had gone up. In Manchester, the crane for the Commodore went up just before the crane for the Tidewater was taken down. The crane for the Tidewater went up before the crane for the Opus was taken down. The crane for Pinecrest/Parc View went up before the crane for the STEM building was taken down. And so on. You see how this works.

Basically an unbroken "chain of cranes" over Richmond - every day - for about seven years now.

Now, I THINK - (dunno if we have any photographic evidence that would prove this out) there was a crane up SOMEWHERE in the city (be it Scott's Addition - or perhaps the Dominion Tower) prior to the last crane of the Gateway Plaza building being taken down. That's why I say I THINK this dates all the way back to the Gateway Plaza building's construction. What was the timing between the Gateway and Dominion buildings going up? Dominion got underway before Gateway was finished, no?

Now I know at least two developments in Scott's used tower cranes - it was either the Summit or the Nest - I think it was the Summit - and the Otis, but the Otis was later. I'm wondering if the Summit came between the Gateway and Dominion buildings (in the event the two downtown towers didn't overlap in terms of when their cranes were up?)

YES - this is the kind of junk I sit around thinking about late on a Saturday night when it's cold and there's snow on the ground. (Only an inch or so - not the 77-plus inches they got in Orchard Park, N.Y. - holy moly!)

Edited November 20, 2022 by I miss RVA

[Icetera]

On 11/19/2022 at 10:10 PM, I miss RVA said:

Just an interesting note about crane days and tower cranes over the city:

If you include Scott's Addition, VCU academic campus and environs, Manchester and, of course, downtown - RVA has had an UNBROKEN period of time in which AT LEAST ONE tower crane (I think it's really at least TWO - and certainly at certain stretches, several more) has been up over the city dating all the way back to (I THINK?!?!) construction of the Gateway Plaza building. By this I mean - at least one crane has been up somewhere in the city AT ALL TIMES for the last roughly seven or so years - as in, a new crane goes up before an old one comes down. Perfect example - the cranes for the VCU Health Outpatient Hospital building went up before the second of the two cranes on the Dominion Tower was taken down. Children's Hospital and the G.A. Building cranes went up at that time - and prior to the very last of that gaggle of cranes coming down (I think it was the second of the two atop the Children's Hospital), both the G.A. parking deck crane AND the STEM Building crane had gone up. In Manchester, the crane for the Commodore went up just before the crane for the Tidewater was taken down. The crane for the Tidewater went up before the crane for the Opus was taken down. The crane for Pinecrest/Parc View went up before the crane for the STEM building was taken down. And so on. You see how this works.

Basically an unbroken "chain of cranes" over Richmond - every day - for about seven years now.

Now, I THINK - (dunno if we have any photographic evidence that would prove this out) there was a crane up SOMEWHERE in the city (be it Scott's Addition - or perhaps the Dominion Tower) prior to the last crane of the Gateway Plaza building being taken down. That's why I say I THINK this dates all the way back to the Gateway Plaza building's construction. What was the timing between the Gateway and Dominion buildings going up? Dominion got underway before Gateway was finished, no?

Now I know at least two developments in Scott's used tower cranes - it was either the Summit or the Nest - I think it was the Summit - and the Otis, but the Otis was later. I'm wondering if the Summit came between the Gateway and Dominion buildings (in the event the two downtown towers didn't overlap in terms of when their cranes were up?)

YES - this is the kind of junk I sit around thinking about late on a Saturday night when it's cold and there's snow on the ground. (Only an inch or so - not the 77-plus inches they got in Orchard Park, N.Y. - holy moly!)

The Penny and Locks Tower had one up through 2019 and then the Summit and 2525 E Main through 2020.

[I miss RVA]

1 hour ago, Icetera said:

The Penny and Locks Tower had one up through 2019 and then the Summit and 2525 E Main through 2020.

YES!! They did! I forgot about those! Good call, Ice! 

[wrldcoupe4]

This should bode well for the region. VCU is now ranked in the top 50 for public research universities in the country based on fiscal expenditures for research. 3rd in the Commonwealth behind VT (36) and UVA (30)

https://www.news.vcu.edu/article/2022/12/vcu-breaks-into-top-50-of-public-research-universities-in-the-us

[Hike]

1 hour ago, wrldcoupe4 said:

This should bode well for the region. VCU is now ranked in the top 50 for public research universities in the country based on fiscal expenditures for research. 3rd in the Commonwealth behind VT (36) and UVA (30)

https://www.news.vcu.edu/article/2022/12/vcu-breaks-into-top-50-of-public-research-universities-in-the-us

Go VCU, Go RVA!

[eandslee]

Took this photo this afternoon off of Broad Street:

 

[I miss RVA]

2 hours ago, eandslee said:

Took this photo this afternoon off of Broad Street:

 

Wonderful photo, @eandslee!! Okay - you're forcing me to find the silver polish... 

[ancientcarpenter]

12 hours ago, eandslee said:

Took this photo this afternoon off of Broad Street:

 

What development is this for? Anyone got a rendering? How tall?

 

edit: looks like it's the 6 story VCU Tech Operations Center

https://masterplan.vcu.edu/implementation/current-projects/technology-operations-center/

Edited March 28, 2023 by ancientcarpenter

[eandslee]

11 minutes ago, ancientcarpenter said:

What development is this for? Anyone got a rendering? How tall?

 

edit: looks like it's the 6 story VCU Tech Operations Center

https://masterplan.vcu.edu/implementation/current-projects/technology-operations-center/

Yep, that’s it!  

[I miss RVA]

1 hour ago, ancientcarpenter said:

What development is this for? Anyone got a rendering? How tall?

 

edit: looks like it's the 6 story VCU Tech Operations Center

https://masterplan.vcu.edu/implementation/current-projects/technology-operations-center/

You are correct, kind sir! AND - I believe it's slated for 7 stories tall! 

[ancientcarpenter]

6 minutes ago, I miss RVA said:

You are correct, kind sir! AND - I believe it's slated for 7 stories tall! 

Great...it's ugly, but great!

[ancientcarpenter]

[Brent114]

Make Belvidere  look better.

 

Edited April 7, 2023 by Brent114

[BigBobbyG]

20 minutes ago, Brent114 said:

Make Belvidere  look better.

 

 

I was thinking the same thing the other day driving down it. I think the pulse line will help significantly as will that new VCU art building (isnt it planned to be something like 10 stories?). I also hope that the pulse will help discourage some of the reckless driving happening on Chamberlayne and Belvidere.

[ancientcarpenter]

19 minutes ago, BigBobbyG said:

I was thinking the same thing the other day driving down it. I think the pulse line will help significantly as will that new VCU art building (isnt it planned to be something like 10 stories?). I also hope that the pulse will help discourage some of the reckless driving happening on Chamberlayne and Belvidere.

Are they planning a "red lane" pulse on belvidere?

[BigBobbyG]

19 minutes ago, ancientcarpenter said:

Are they planning a "red lane" pulse on belvidere?

Yeah! I think we definitely have a few years before it gets here but here is a news article about it. I actually went to a community meeting for this to show support for the plan. To be honest with you I wish they would choose all three options.

https://www.wric.com/news/local-news/richmond/is-richmond-ready-for-a-second-pulse-route/